Coolest Wedding Cake Trends of 2020
By Raashka Mannie

06 November 2019

Wedding cakes are not simply just wedding cakes. They’re statements - fashion statements, personality statements, statements of every kind.

They come and go like all other trends, whether we’re looking at florals or wedding dresses, and keeping up with them is a delicious task we’re all too happy to do. You never really know what cake makers are going to come up with next, which is such a treat - in the most literal sense. We’ve searched high and low for the best wedding cake trends of 2019 and 2020. There’s nothing tastier than digging into a slice of the best, so enjoy 10 of the yummiest wedding cake trends across the globe.


Image by Country House Wedding Venues

1/ Paint the Town

For added individuality, you can’t go wrong with a painted wedding cake. Not only do they encourage the artist within, but they’re stunning to boot. Painted wedding cakes add a level of personalisation to wedding cakes like none other, whether you’re after particular prints or colours of every kind. You can paint on quotes, murals, symbols, flowers - the world is your oyster. If you fancy yourself Salvador Dalí (or maybe an artist not quite so ambitious), you can try your hand at painting your own wedding cake. It’ll make your day all the sweeter!


Image by Pinterest

2/ Goodbye, Cake

Who says a cake has to be a cake? Ditch the cake itself and keep the general structure of it all for the fun of it. There are numerous alternatives to a traditional wedding cake, but we’ll begin with the trendiest ones over the last year. We’ve got beloved donut towers, meringue cakes, tens of beautifully decorated cupcakes, wheels of cheese cake, macaron cakes, cookie cakes, pancake cakes and so much more. The list never seems to end - but that’s fabulous, because it means your list of alternative wedding cakes never ends. Whether you’re not a fan of cake itself or love some other dish a million times more, a non-cake is one of the most fun wedding cake trends we’ve seen.


Image by The Northbound

3/ Float Away

They’re gravity-defying and great, so say hello to the floating cake. Design-wise, this is one of our favourites. It’s beautiful, it’s unusual and it stands out. These wedding cakes might have been around on and off for a while, but they’re stealing the spotlight in recent months. They involve using a nifty cake stand, so it means even more fun when talking about cake design (and, hopefully, even more tastings). We think floating wedding cakes look especially gorgeous when they have a geometric edge to them, but you’re free to pick from the hundreds of options that are - dare we say it? - floating around.


Image by Brides

4/ Single and Lovin’ It

Simplicity is beauty. Single-level wedding cakes offer both in spades. When people think of wedding cakes, they tend to think of towers of white icing with a cute little figurine at the top. We’re here to tell you that you can have as simple a cake as you’d like (with or without the adorable cake topper). Single-level wedding cakes are great for more intimate and down-to-earth weddings. They’re more customisable and, with the right additions, can take centre stage when it comes to all your wedding desserts (despite how unassuming you may think it is). Go buttercream, go floral, go glitter all over - whatever you do, know that your single-level wedding cake is one of the coolest wedding cake trends right now and will undoubtedly be a hit.


Image by Pinterest

5/ Dark Delights

With the impending return of My Chemical Romance, it’s no wonder his trend has skyrocketed over the last season. Dark wedding cakes are perfect for couples looking to add a certain edge to their weddings. With black icing and fondant, these wedding cakes are here to make a bold statement - and they do so gorgeously. Dark wedding cakes can appear with hints of colour (bands of gold or touches of white florals atop them), or with extra texture for a different look. Black is an elegant colour and will only add further elegance to your wedding, so it’s about time you tap into that gothic side of you and embrace the dark wedding cake trend as we have.


Image by Food52

6/ Terraform that Cake

Terrarium Cakes have been lingering around for some time, but they’ve seen a recent surge in popularity. Succulents have such a wide colour palette that they can fit into the theme of any wedding; they also bring a delightful variety of texture to wedding cakes, making them as unique as they are pretty. You can have your entire cake covered by succulents and plant life, or go for something simpler and more understated with a few pops of them here and there. If you’re really into it, you can combine this idea with the non-cake one and have a bunch of cupcakes masquerading as potted succulents. What’s cuter than that?


Image by Brides

7/ Get Weaving

When you look at wedding cakes, you think about the colour, the size and the layers. These days, however, it’s just as important to consider the texture. There’s so much that can be done with icing and baking. Really, we should be calling bakers ‘magicians’ for all the magic they work on wedding cakes. Textured wedding cakes can come in the form of ruffles, pearls, tapestry, marble, petals, piped designs, lace and, my personal favourite, milk glass-inspired. Paired with solid colours, texture designs on wedding cakes stand out even more. From embossing to topping, textured wedding cakes can be as minimalistic or as bold as your heart desires.


Image by Pinterest

8/ Let it Bloom

This is a trend that transforms into something even more breathtaking each time we investigate it. You have the classic floral toppers, of course, and the mouth-watering sugar flowers that taste as lovely as they look. You also have pressed edible flowers, one of the newer and prettier ways to decorate your wedding cake, and floral fantasy wedding cakes that seem to bloom before your eyes in their sumptuousness. Floral wedding cakes have always been popular at weddings, no matter what the season or year, because florals are as romantic as they come. Whether you’re looking to jazz up a naked wedding cake with flowers, or to cover your entire wedding cake in edible ones (this would definitely be my choice), floral wedding cakes are a tried and trusted option around the world.


Image by Brides

9/ Be There and Be Square

Round wedding cakes are just so last year. Square it up with square wedding cakes! They’re creative, funky and leave thousands of options open for you. You can even mix shapes, choosing both round and square tiers if you’ve decided on a multi-layer cake. Some people love naked square cakes, all for the simple elegance of it, whilst others opt for texture and bright colours. We’ve seen square wedding cakes full of whimsy, with a crossword puzzle embossed all around it, as well as ones with ‘framing’ all around the edges for a sleek, modern look. Square wedding cakes do so much just by being square that you can go for something completely traditional - all white, a touch of floral, maybe even some lace - and it’ll still be daringly pretty.


Image by Pinterest

10/ Some Wiggle Room

Now, this might’ve gone under the non-cake section, but it deserved a spot of its own for all its creativity. Jelly wedding cakes are both bizarre and beautiful. You’ll see them in a myriad of shapes (what is jelly if not malleable?), in block colours or carefully designed gradients. Some of the most gorgeous ones will be entirely clear with edible flowers suspended in them; others get extra innovative and enclose sweet little fish swimming in ‘ponds’ of sky blue jelly. Jelly wedding cakes award a different kind of flexibility and open up a world of possibility. From mimicking the milky way to encasing your favourite fruits, jelly wedding cakes are an unusual way to make your wedding cake even more exciting.

 

Main image by Sweet Bites Cakes.